Arsenal rival Troy Deeney has his say on Mikel Arteta tactics: 'Give me a break!'
Former Premier League striker Troy Deeney has weighed in on the debate about Arsenal's use of football's 'dark arts' in their 2-2 draw against rivals Manchester City
by Matthew Cooper · The MirrorTroy Deeney has defended Arsenal following criticism of their display in the ill-tempered 2-2 draw against Manchester City at the Etihad earlier this month.
There were a number of flashpoints during the game and several City players were critical of Arsenal using 'dark arts' to help them get a result, particularly after Leandro Trossard was sent off in the first-half.
Two Arsenal players were booked for time-wasting in the final ten minutes, with City star Bernardo Silva complaining: "There was only one team that came to play football. The other came to play to the limits of what was possible to do and allowed by the referee, unfortunately.
"The referee allowed a sequence of time-wasting events. The thing that bothers me the most is having a lot of meetings with the FA at the beginning of each season. They tell us they will control this kind of situation and will stop them, but in the end it doesn't have any worth."
John Stones, who scored City's late equaliser, added: "You can call it clever or dirty, whichever way you want to put it, they break up the game and it upsets the rhythm for everyone. They use it for their advantage."
Fellow defender Manuel Akanji, meanwhile, suggested there are not "many better" than Arsenal at using football's 'dark arts'. However, former Premier League striker Deeney, who notably claimed Arsenal lacked "cojones" after his Watford side beat them 1-0 in 2017, has defended the Gunners.
In a column for the Sun, Deeney wrote: "Arsenal are the masters of the 'dark arts'? Give me a break. I've been around and seen teams act way worse in the Prem. None of this is new. Alan Pardew's Newcastle were great at it.
"Cesc Fabregas was a horrible b*****d. John Obi Mikel used to foul you, help you up and step on your calf as he did it. At Watford we had meetings about Chelsea's Diego Costa who was so nasty we tried to be really nice to him on the pitch to try and get him on side.
"And I will never forget wiping out Martin Skrtel early doors in 2015 and hearing the noise he made when I hit him. I thought: 'I've got you'. We ended up beating Liverpool 3-0. It is not 'dark arts'. It is just trying to wind people up to gain an advantage.
"All Arsenal did against Manchester City was manage the clock, trying to give their players a break and they did it really well. It was basically a pre-season drill. When you go to Old Trafford, when you go to Anfield, anywhere you go, you would try to dampen the crowd, wouldn't you?
"Yes they shut up shop, but don’t most teams at the Etihad? Does that make them all dirty and masters of the 'dark arts'? Just because Man City want you to come out and play, does that mean everyone needs to fall in line?"
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